Sweet Child O' Mine
by Monroe-Militia
Summary: (Crossover with A&E's The Returned in which Connor and Simon are the same character) Connor was engaged to Rowan in Mexico and when he spots her in Austin with a blonde-haired little girl, it's the first time he's seen her since she left six years earlier. (Connor/Rowan)


"You see any kids from Willoughby-"

Connor didn't hear a word that was being said after that, since his attention was captured by a strangely familiar form across the crowd. He was sure that he must be imagining it, yet he still couldn't tear his eyes away from her. A man who had been blocking him from getting a good glimpse at her stepped out of the way then and he found that the woman was holding hands with a blonde little girl.

So he had been mistaken. That couldn't be Rowan.

His gaze lingered on her for a moment longer and he was just about to look away when the little girl said something and the woman turned her head to look at her. He hadn't seen her in six years, not since she had disappeared from Mexico without a trace, but even from that distance he knew that it was no mistake. That was Rowan. Which meant that the girl clutching on her hand, who had to be at least five, must be his.

He stood frozen in place as he watched Rowan smile down at her daughter, until he saw her say one last thing to her before letting go of her hand and turning to walk away. The girl was left standing alone by the window of a shop.

What was she thinking? Rowan shouldn't be leaving the girl alone there, even for a minute. Miles and the others were intent on shooting on sight any kid they found suspicious and the daughter he hadn't even known about until that moment had been left unattended in the middle of it.

Connor began to walk towards the girl, without uttering a word of explanation or even glancing back to see if any of the others were watching what he was doing.

"You shouldn't be standing here all by yourself, you know," Connor told her in what he hoped was a gentle voice as he offered her a friendly smile. "It's not safe out here."

She took a step back, her small form shrinking against the wall, as she eyed him nervously.

"It's okay, sweetheart," he told her in an attempt to calm her down. "Just stay with me, alright? I'll keep you safe."

"MOM!" The girl shrieked out at the top of her lungs.

"What the hell are you doing?" Jason asked. Connor hadn't even realized that the other man had followed him until he had spoken up. "Are you trying to kidnap some little-"

His question was cut short by an angry voice insisting, "Stay the hell away from he-" That voice cut itself short too as Connor turned his head to find Rowan pulling the girl towards her by the hand. "Connor?"

Jason looked between the two in confusion as Connor stared at her wordlessly with those sad eyes that she never quite could resist.

Without taking her eyes off of him, Rowan loosened her grip on her daughter's hand as she told her, "Chloe, go wait for me where we were before. Alright?"

Chloe. So that was his daughter's name.

As the girl moved to walk away, Connor stepped into her way and looked over at Rowan with pleading eyes as he insisted, "She shouldn't be by herself here. It isn't safe."

"It never is around you," Rowan pointed out.

That cut deeper than he would like to admit, but Connor didn't budge out of the way. Finally, Rowan eyed her daughter nervously for a moment before bringing a hand to her shoulder to gently tug her back towards her.

"What are you two doing?" Bass demanded as he walked over to see what the hell had Jason and his son so distracted in the middle of a serious situation. "Don't you think she's a bit young to be considered suspicious?"

Rowan eyed the man warily. She definitely didn't trust him.

She turned her gaze over to Connor, who said nothing as his own gaze dropped back down to stare at Chloe. That wasn't a good sign. It seemed to her that Connor may have just found himself a new Nunez since she had left.

She glared back over at the man as she questioned, "Who are you?"

"Who are _you_?" He countered before looking over to his son, who still hadn't answered his first question.

It was Connor who answered Rowan's question for Bass as he told her, "He's my dad."

Much to Bass's surprise, the girl immediately shot back, "Your dad's dead."

"Turns out my mom decided he wasn't worth telling me about," Connor countered. He wasn't quite able to keep the bitterness out of his tone.

The pained expression on his face cut Rowan like a knife and Bass must have noticed, since he turned to his son and demanded, "Hold on a second. Is the kid _yours_?"

Chloe's head whipped around to search her mother's expression for answers before she looked back over at the man in question, then back to her mother again.

Rowan turned her gaze down at her daughter and gave her a small smile. "Chloe, this is Connor. He's your dad."

The girl turned wide eyes over to look curiously over at the man who was supposed to be her father as he sheepishly smiled down at her. Their meeting was cut short though as the sound of gunshots rang out behind them.

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**A/N: Please read and review! You'll find out more about their history in Mexico in future chapters...**


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